Omoide No Kakera
by Eien Kaosu
Summary: Prequel to Trojan Pony's Born to Burn about Heiji Kaosu, also known as Hjiscool. Reference to Born to Burn in later chapters. Rated for violence. Third and final chapter UP! :D
1. Shards of Fire

Title: Omoide No Kakera (Shards of Memories)

Disclaimer: I do not own MapleStory, for it is the property of Wizet. I also do not own the name Heiji and Teitan High, for they were borrowed from the manga/anime Detective Conan (Meitantei Conan, Case Closed), by Gosho Aoyama-sama. Where he got them I do not know. :P

A/N: This is sort of like a prequel of Trojan Pony's Born to Burn, about my character, Heiji Kaosu. Later on in the story, lines from Born to Burn are used with premission, but do not belong to me. The entire story is done in Heiji's point of view, only different versions of Heiji. (Sakuri(Original), Heiji(Male), Heiji Kaosu(Female))

"Talking"

'Thinking'

I suggest you read the story Born to Burn before reading this.

WARNING: This story contains confusion and violence. (No gore though.)

Now on with the story :D

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Shards of Fire

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Sakuri's P.O.V.

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Most of you probably know me as Heiji Kaosu from Trojan Pony's "Born to Burn", the sarcastic but also happy-go-lucky Hunter(ess) who's over-protective of her Ryden. But do you really know beyond that point? Who I actually am before that? Well, you're about to find out, but like the saying goes, don't judge a book by it's cover.

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Once up on a time, I was known as Sakuri Kaosu, a high-school student in Teitan High School. I got straight A's and honor rolls every semester, also chosen as the class presedent over and over again. But sadly, because of this, I had very little friends and was not amonest the "popular" group, or as they called themselves. Besides all this, at home, after I'm finished all my homework, I'd go on MapleStory, a MMORPG where people were, well, to say, chibi. I had a level 40 Hunter there, named Hjiscool, which I nicknamed Heiji. Why would a girl character have a guy's name? You ask? Well, the truth is, Heiji actually is a guy. At first, I just created him as a guy for safety reasons since the internet isn't exactly safe. But as time went on, he started to feel like a part of me, even to the point of whenever I log in to MapleStory, I can almost feel his presence with me, guiding me through each step in the game.

Now, some of you may think that I'm silly to actually feel like this over a game, but I want to tell you, that because of this, I have "died" once and been reincarnated, becoming who I am today. From this point on, it holds no lies only truth, no happiness, only sorrow. This is how it all started, the "Birth" of the one known as Heiji Kaosu, though I warn you it'll be like nothing you've ever imagined.

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One day during Summer vacation, my older sister, Electra and I went to go play Tennis, pretty normal right? Not. Actually, we were going up against each other in the city's annual Tennis Tournament, so we were practicing for the big day. That's when it happened. While trying to reach for a lob, my side suddenly felt like it was going tear open. I tumbled to the ground, dropping my racket in the process. The ball fell around a meter behind me. Sensing something wasn't right, Electra rushed to my aid, asking me what was wrong. All I could croak out was "M-my side... It feels... like it.. gonna.. te..ar o-op...en" Before letting out a bloodcurding scream. My vision became woozy, and my heart felt like it's gonna jump out of my throat, if my side doesn't tear open first. My mind raced and thoughts ran through my head.

I blacked out.

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'What's happening to me! Am I dead! Please don't let me die, I don't want to forget... But... what is there to remember anyways? My life is just a normal one, with a normal family, normal school, normal teacher, normal everything... But why do I feel like I'm forgetting about something? Argh! My head hurts... Wait...w-who is that? Who's whispering to me?'

'Shhh... It's alright... I'm here for you...'

'W-who are you? Don't come any closer!'

'Hmm... Here's a hint: I'm your character in MapleStory.'

'H-Heiji! B-but... how!'

'Well, apparently... I can't really explain it. Crap, my time's almost up... Just once the pain gets to be too much, say these two words; Soul Arrow.'

'W-wait! Hei---'

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My eyes opened, and I tried to focus. The first thing I noticed was Electra carrying me, and the pain in my side was getting worse. She appearently noticed I was awake, since she started to talk.

"What happened to you? You just blacked out all of a sudden after you said felt like your side's going to tear open."

"W...where are we?"

"You were out cold for about five minutes and already don't know where you are? I'm going to take you to the doctor's for a checkup. It isn't everyday that someone says their side's gonna split, especially fainting right after. Phew! You're sure heavy for someone your height!"

"That's just 'cause your weak... Dammit... The pain's getting worse."

"Watch your language! You should be glad that you're my little sister, or else I'll just leave you here."

"Meh."

We walked for a little while longer with Electra supporting me till we were at her car. Just then, when I didn't think things could get any worse, it did. A group of thugs went up to my sister's car and began to slash it's tires, a few even started to come up to us, with evil grins on their face. We searched around desperately for help, Electra holding on to me nervously. In a low whisper, she said to me.

"If they start to attack me, I want you to run as fast as you can to the police for help. Don't worry about me."

"But!"

"No buts! I know what I'm doing. As your sister, that's an order, k?"

"O-ok... Don't get hurt though..."

"I won't."

The thugs advanced forward slowly, but the pain increased by the second, until I couldn't take it anymore. I felt like I was going to black out again but just then, I remembered something. Something that Heiji told me only minutes before.

'Just once the pain gets to be too much, say these two words; Soul Arrow.' The words flashed by in my head.

"S-soul Arrow..." I said weakly, but nothing happened. I started to become discouraged. 'No! Don't give up! This is your only way out! Gather up your strength and shout it! Don't give up!' I heard someone shout in the back of my mind. My eyes snapped open. 'Heiji!' I shook my head, and tried to focus. Sucking to a deep breath, I gathered up the rest of my strength.

"SOUL ARROW!"

A pillar of golden light errupted under me, swallowing me in. The pillar reached for the clouds, till it was no longer seen. After what seemed like a few seconds, I felt as if I was floating in mid air. I heard the now familiar voice of Heiji in my head again.

'You did well, Sakuri. It's my turn now.'

I blacked out again.

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Hj's (Male) P.O.V.

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I watched the golden light around me shine brighter after I took over Sakuri's body, till even if I put my hand right up to my face, I was unable to see it. The light carried me up higher and higher into the air, until I was above the clouds. I stepped off the pillar, onto the clouds unfraid I would fall off, since I have been in Orbis many times before. A few seconds later, a body-length mirror materialized infront of me. I looked into it, not surprised to find the reflection of me rather then Sakuri, I then stepped back onto the pillar of light, as it formed a golden arrow underneath me. Soul Arrow.

I closed my eyes, and opened them up again to find myself back on the ground. Blinking a few times, I focused my attention on the thugs and Sakuri's sister. I frowned alittle, and readied my bow, aiming a golden arrow at the group of thugs. "Say your last words..." I said in a low, calm voice. The sentence registered into their minds as they scattered around like ants, frantically looking for a place to hide. But it was of no use.

"ARROW RAIN!" I shouted on my own accord, confusing myself. That was a Third job skill! Rather than the Arrow Bomb I was preparing for, millions of electric blue arrows rained down from the sky, living up to it's name. Thought's ran through my head, confusion, worry, anger, disbelieve, until I've finally settled for one. 'Might as well use it while I still can, but it's gonna take alot of time finding out how. Oh well, it's worth it, I guess.' The arrows finally turned into a light drizzle, before stopping completely. What was once a parking lot is now a barren land, burnt by each of the arrows. The only life besides mine that was spared from the hurricane of arrows was Electra's, who was sitting on the ground, shocked beyond all believe.

My side started to hurt, like none that I've felt before. It felt like I was being stabbed by millions of knifes, over and over again. I pulled up the side of my Legolier, and stared in surpise and disgust. A black/purple void that was the size of a baseball was growing there, feasting on my flesh. I took out a small beginner's sword from my inventory and stabbed it right into my flesh where the void was, trying to not scream in pain. I pulled the knife out, and on the tip of the blade was a black sphere, no bigger than a marble. It tore itself off the blade and floated into the air, while I watched in awe. All of a sudden, a small voice, that of a child's whispered the words, "Mystic Door!" and the marble flashed brightly, growing larger. When the light died down, a door appeared infront of me, lowering itself onto the ground. I walked suspiciously up to the door, turning the knob carefully and opened the door partly.

I blacked out.

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Hello! This is my first MapleStory fic and I'm gonna try my best to make it interesting! Please Read and Review, and Constructive Criticism is more than welcome. D Oh yes! I almost forgot. If you enjoyed this fic, please read Trojan Pony's "Born to Burn" as it is 1000+ times better than this. Even if you did not enjoy this story, I still beg of you to read Trojan Pony's "Born to Burn". Wow... Heiji blacked out (Counts on fingers) Three times in the story! That's not good for her personal health. She's probably gonna black out even more.

Quota: Hmm... I don't really expect one to be placed, but I guess three reviews.


	2. Shards of Ice

Disclaimer: I do not own MapleStory or anything in it, but I do own this fanfic.

WARNING: Skip the descriptions if you want, it's not actually that important.

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Shards of Ice

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Heiji Kaosu's (Female) P.O.V.

"She's waking up!" A voice I assumed was that of a girl's, woke me up from my uneventful sleep. My eyes snapped open, but I immediately regreted it and closed them tightly, my right hand shielding over them. Later, I had recovered and opened my eyes again, only slowly this time, adjusting to the light. I had learned my lesson the first time. Once my eyes were fully adjusted, I scanned my surrounds for danger.

I was appearently in a small house with curvy beige walls, and an orange ceiling. Sunlight poured in from the crystal-clear windows and made the house seem even more warm and inviting. A cough made me turn my attention to the two people beside me. One was woman around her late twenties, she wore a golden tiara incased with a jewel around her blonde hair. She also had emerald green eyes and wore golden earrings on her ears. I couldn't help but feel that she looked familiar. The woman wore an armor of sorts, with a white collar incased with a dark jewel. The rest of it was beige. The other person was a girl, around the age of 16. She was also wearing what seemed to be armor, only it was not as baggy as the woman's armor, also green and brown, a jewel was embeded in the belt of the armor. She had a feather on her green hat, which covered her short light-brown hair. 'Dyed,' I thought in my mind when I noticed a few streaks of blonde hidden in the light-brown. The girls jade green eyes were very much like the womans, only they seemed a bit duller. The two pairs of green eyes stared at me in confusion.

"W-where am I?" I asked, in an barely audiable whisper.

"You're at our house," The woman replied in a bubbly, child like voice, making her seem like a teenager rather than an adult. "I'm Athena Pierce, the Head Instructor at the "Bowman Instructional School"," Athena introduced. For some reason, the name seemed vaguely familiar to me.

"And this," She continued, as as she pointed at the girl beside her, "Is my daughter, Jade Pierce."

"Nice to meet you." Jade smiled. I stared at them in disbelieve. 'They are mother and daughter?!' My mouth gapped. But they look almost as if sisters! Apparently I caught myself staring and quickly regained my composure.

"So... Do you know who you are?" Athena questioned. It seemed like a strange question so I almost replied without thinking until the words sank into my mind. 'She's right! Who am I?!' I thought frantically. I tried to search through my memories, but they were missing, blocked behind an invisible, but strong wall. A few minutes later, I gave up. "I... don't know, sorry." I stuttered while trembling. How could I not know who I am?!

"I was afraid of this.." Athena said with a serious tone contrasting her tone earlier violently, not at all surprised. "Jade found you lying in the Park a week ago, after a meteor shower the night before. You had several head injuries along with what looked like a knife wound."

"I've been sleeping for that long?!" I jerked up from my lying position, until a sharp pain surged through me from my side. I immediately lied down right after. 'Guess she wasn't joking about the knife wound.' I thought dryly.

"Yes, we were starting to wonder if whether or not you would actually wake up!" Jade chirped, rather amused. A minute passed before anyone said anything else. "Oh yes!" Exclaimed Jade, as she rushed out door. She seemed to have remembered something.

A few more minutes later, which seemed like hours since the pain in my side still hasn't died down, the blonde/brunette rushed back in. In her hands were a tiny knapsack and, what really caught my attention even though I was lying down, a green and yellow bow.

'Ryden,' Said a voice in the back of my mind, I did not know who's it was. "R-ryden?" I repeated, startling the other inhabitants of the room.

"You know of this bow?" Athena asked, still in a serious tone. It made me feel a little queasy.

"I think so," I said as I tried to perch myself up without hurting my side even more. "I-I he..ard a voice in t-the back of my head wh-hisper to me, "Ryden"." I stuttered out, clenching my teeth from the pain. Clearly my attempt did not work.

"I found these when I saw her in the park," Jade explained while trying to catch her breath. She held out the two items to Athena. "I thought it might hold some clues to her past, and clearly I was right."

Athena took the items from her, and closely examined them. She gasped when she saw something on the side of the bag. "What did you find, Miss Athena?" I wondered out loud.

"This bag..." Athena stuttered out.

"What about it, mother?" Jade asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"It's... Hjiscool's." Athena finished. "He went missing about eight days ago. No one was able to track him, almost as if he had disappeared from the face of the world."

Athena turned around and glanced at me, curiousity flashing through her eyes. "Could it be?" I wondered at her words before turning my attention back to Athena, who held out the two items to me. I nervously took them, unsure of what to do next. "Open the bag up," she urged. "You might find something that would serve as a memory-jogger in it." I opened the bag as I was told, only to be startled again by Jade gasping softly and the head instructor putting her hand on my shoulder. "I knew it! You ARE him. A different person would've never been bale to open that bag!" She exclaimed.

"Umm, I don't understand. How could opening a bag prove that I'm this "Hjiscool" person?" I asked incredulously. The pain in my side was starting to dull.

"These bags," Jade started, "Are what we call "Inventories". Each adventurer in the world gets one as soon as they are able to fight, the bags have special spells on them which will not let anyone besides the owner open it." She held out a bag similar to the one in my hands. "This one's mine."

Athena continued at where her daughter left off. "Because of your ability to open the inventory, it's a big chance that you are actually Hjiscool. But we are not 100 percent sure, so Grendel will be needed before we make a conclusion." She studied me for a bit, making me feel quite uncomfortable. "Hmm... I can't believe I've never noticed! Besides your gender and some other differences, you look exactly like him!"

"Grendel?" I asked, turning the topic back.

"You'll soon find out. We have called for him a few days in advance about a different problem, but yours is more important right now."

I nodded alittle stiffly.

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"So you say that this girl might be your prized student, Hjiscool?" Grendel said to Athena as he examined me. Prized student? I wondered.

"Yes, Hj went missing awhile back. None of the search parties have found anything yet." Said Athena solemly. From her tone, I can tell that she was very fond of him, in a teacher/student way.

"You do know if something like this is leaks out, but only is found to be false later on, you can lose your place as the head instuctor, right?"

"Yes, but I'm willing to take a chance. Whether it means losing my position or not." Athena replied, with nothing but determination in her voice.

My eyes widened. 'Is she really that sure that I'm this "Hj" person?' I wondered, but by the tone in Athena's voice I knew she wouldn't take no as an answer.

"Very well, I suppose you know what you are doing." Grendel sighed, giving in to Athena's determination. He then turned his attention to me.

"Tell me, child. What is your name?" He questioned.

I stiffened. 'He's not the only one who wants to know...' I thought with a hint of sarcasm. I had no answer to the current question, so I kept quiet. A while later when they realized I would not answer, Athena spoke up.

"I had thought something like this would happen, so I thought to name her as "Amythest" until she either regains her memories or we get enough proof that she's Hj. If she agrees that is."

I shrugged, "Sure, why not?" 'That takes care of the name problem for now.' I added as an afterthought.

"I was also thinking about getting her enrolled to the school. Though it'll be a little troublesome, as our school is only for beginner bowmen. Getting her enrolled as an Hunter will surely cause an uproar."

"Then why not enroll me as a bowman? No one will be able to tell the difference." I suggested, wondering no one else thought of it.

"That won't work. Aside from your Hunter skills, you have much better endurance than the less skilled bowmen, and your clothes are definately not that of a beginner or inexperienced bowman either. Plus there is also a system which shows your level. By the way, a level is a ranking of sorts. Your level gets higher by killing monsters and finishing quests. Oh yes! I'll have to get you an ID card. Last time Hj came to visit he was level 48." Athena said, the tension in the air seemed to have lessened a little.

"What does my clothes have to do with anything?" I asked as I pulled at the gloves I was wearing. 'Silk,' I noted.

"You all only allowed to wear clothes according to your level and class, if you try to wear something higher than your level or is not of your class, fire will appear and burn you. The clothes are, however, fire proof." Athena explained. "All clothing has magic properties engraved in it. Some increase your DEX, LUK, INT and/or STR, while others increase your HP and MP. All clothing increase your weapon and/or magic defense, which let's you suffer less damage from monsters. I'll explain these things to you later, and the things I do not, you will learn in class." Athena explained. A few moments passed as I registered all of that into my brain. I then remembered about the bag.

"Oh yeah! I still haven't looked inside the bag!" I blurted out, not paying attention to the fact that it had nothing to do with the topic. Athena and Grendel's attention then turned to me, along with Jade's, who haven't spoken all this time. I took the bag from my side and dumped the contents onto the bed I was lying on. Inside were 3 more bows, the first a metalic color, the second resembled the first only marine blue instead, and the third a blue bow which seemed to be made out of wood. A few articles of clothing fell out, one which looked rather like a French army uniform, another a long blue robe, the third was also an robe, only the main colors were blue and beige. The last a rather normal-looking jean and T-shirt. Along with that fell out a few pairs of gloves, hats, earrings, some other weapons, some colored liquids inside glass bottles, red colored snail shells, and other stuff. After everything tumbled out a little metallic-blue rectangular device fell out. I stared in awe. 'How is this all supposed to fit inside a bag that small?!' I decided not to ask.

"Hmm... this definately looks like Hj's things. Though he tends to wear his Piette more often than Legolier now. I wonder why you appeared wearing the Legolier though?" Athena mumbled as she examined the items, as were Jade and Grendel.

"Legolier?" I asked. "What's that?"

"Oops, I forgot that you still don't know what you looked like!" Athena exclaimed. The tension in air just a few moments ago seemed to have evaporated. Jade helped me out of only to have me fall back onto the bed in pain. Athena seemed to have noticed this and handed me a bottle of white liquid that I dumped out of the bag. I stared at it, not knowing what to do.

"Go on, drink it. It'll make your wounds heal alot faster." Athena urged. I took off the cap and gulped it down. It didn't really taste like anything. The pain dulled down dramaticly over next few seconds, leaving me speechless. Jade then helped me up again and walked me over to a body lengthed mirror in another room. I glanced at my reflection in mirror, only to be caught speechless once again as I stopped in mid-way staring at the mirror at my reflection, mouth opened wide. What caught my attention was not my appearance, but the clothes I wore.

The silky green shirt framed in gold hanged loose on my petite frame, almost swallowing me whole. The baggy pants were held up by two green-gold straps on the knees. On my head, a green, rather fancy hat also lined in gold stood tall and proud on my head, and I briefly wondered how it did not fall off even when I was lying down, on my feet I wore red boots which seemed to be also made from silk. Clear blue earrings I assumed to be made out of sapphire adorned my ears, and behind those were another pair of earrings that resembled cat's eyes. I also noticed that there seemed to be another small hole behind the two which currently had no earrings in them. On my back was a silky blue cape trimmed in once again gold, plus red gloves that were also covered by gold.

'Did the person who made these have a gold and silk fetish or something?!' I wondered, rather amazed. I looked back at the mirror again and noticed my red hair, which was tied in a loose ponytail in the back and my rather long bangs fell infront of my crystal blue eyes, the right to be exact. I mentally noted that the tailor, whoever he or she is, is not the only one with a silk fetish.

'Well,' I mentally comforted myself as I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. "At least my stuff looks better than Jade's." A few moments later I seemed to have felt a dark presence behind me, and turned around to see what it was. All I caught was a evil aura around Jade before I realised I seemed to have said it out loud. "N-no offense or anything..." I studdered as I backed away from her, holding my hands out infront of me, the left corner of my mouth twitching into a nervous grin. Her aura immediatly vanished.

"I'm sorry," She started, with an apologetic expression on her face. "I always do that when someone makes fun of my clothes, saying that I'm weak and stuff because of them. Due to this, I always go like that whenever someone mentions them." I frowned.

"No one should be treated like that! It's not like they all started as that strong!" I shouted, letting out my momentary rage. "Hmm... If someone ever treat you like that, tell me and I'll pound some sense into them, k?" I grinned mischievously, and Jade started laughing. After awhile I couldn't hold it in and joined her in the laughter.

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A few days later after Athena made my ID card, I was sent to school with Jade. Jade insisted that she stays with me in the office as the secretary enrolled me. I let out a sigh of relieve and muttered a "Thank you" to Jade under my breath.

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Sitting in the office was no fun at all, was the first thing I realized after seeing a line that was around 100 feet long.

"When I got enrolled it was like this too," Jade whispered to me. "It doesn't take long though since not many have the requirments to become a bowman. You better think about what Mother told you before we get there." I closed my eyes and tried to think.

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Flashback

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"Here's your ID card," Athena said, handing me a small device identical to the one I found in my bag. "To use it, press down on the button on the back." I did as I was told and gasped as the lid popped open. A screen was on the other side of the lid and what looked like to be a small keyboard on the other. "Good." Came the voice of Athena. "Now press that red button to turn the device on." I pressed it, and the screen lit up, causing me to wince and shield my eyes with my right arm. A few moments later, I put my arm down and looked at the screen.

Name: Amethyst Kaosu

Job: Bowman (Hunter)

Level: 48 (1)

Guild: -

HP: 1915/1915

MP: 931/931

EXP:347/604416 (0.05)

Fame: 40

STR: 54 (53+1)

DEX: 183 (172+11)

INT: 7

LUK: 4

Ability Points: 0

"Umm... What is this?" I asked uncertainly. Athena merely smiled and instructed me to press the blue button at the side. Out popped another screen, showing more info.

Attack: 224389

Weapon Def: 121

Magic: 7

Magic Def: 28

Accuracy: 133

Avoidability: 47

Hands: 193

Speed: 110

Jump: 100

"Now," Said Athena in a calm voice, "Take this pen," She pulled out a pen-like thing from the oppposite side of the second screen and handed it to me, "And press down on any of the buttons at the top of the main screen."

I took the pen and tapped it on the part of the screen which read Equipment. It took around 10 seconds to load until a whole new screen popped up, with little icons of my clothing on it. I raised an eyebrow.

"Good, run the pen over any of the icons to get a detailed description of it."

The next few icons after the Equipment icon were Inventory, Buddy List, Party, Guild, Blacklist, Skills, and Maple Messenger. The Inventory was divided into four sections, Equip, USE, Set-up, and ETC. Each of the four held little icons, and much like the Equipment, showed a description of the item when I ran the pen/pointer over it. I mentally noted that the icons looked rather familliar. Once I was finished exploring the rest of my ID, I turned my attention to Athena again and waited for her to give me the next instruction.

"Now that you've figured out how to mess around with your own profile, it's time to teach you how to mess around with others'!" Athena exclaimed happily as Jade and I sweatdropped. She then unexpectedly took my right hand (Which has the ID in it) and pointed it at Jade. Jade blinked a few times before pointing at herself and mouthing what seemed to be the word, "Me". Athena ignored her and went on with the next steps.

"Do you see this blue button here?" I nodded a little stiffly at being grabbed like that. My body then acted on it's own accord again which completely contrasted my mind, and pressed the button. My mouth gapped a bit as a picture of Jade appeared on the screen of the ID. Below her picture was some of her information.

Name: Jade Pierce

Level: 17

Job: Archer

Fame: 1

Guild: -

I looked over to the secondary screen, and on it was a list of Jade's armor. At the top were four buttons, The two on the left had green backrounds with white letters, which read "Request Party" and the bottom one, "Request Trade". The two on the right bore the same white letters, only with a pink/red backround. These two read, "Item" and "Wishlist". I couldn't help but notice the little arrows beside the Item and Wishlist buttons, so I ran the pen/pointer over the "Wishlist" button. My secondary screen immediately turned into a screen with empty slots. I then ran the pointer over the Item button, which returned the secondary screen to the equipment list.

"Uhh..." I double blinked. "Was that supposed to happen?"

"Very good! You've figured out how to use that before I even told you!" Congratulated Athena, as I stared at her like someone would stare at some radioactive creature that they were about to poke.(2) "Now, let's show you how to send/receive requests. First off, I'll show you how to send a trade request."

"Let me guess, it's this button right here, right?" I said with mild sarcasm, point and the "Request Trade" button.

"Why, how did you know?" Said Athena, her voice dripping with so mush venom and sarcasm than I could ever muster, but the amazing and near-impossible thing was that she remained her bubbly self through the entire sentence. I made a mental note to never try something like that ever again.

"Anyways," I heard Athena say, her voice losing all traces of the venom/sarcasm only seconds before. "Since you have found out how to request trades, it's quiet obvious that you would've figured out how to send a party invite as well. But, to send a party invite, you have to in both in a party AND the party leader. Each party can only contain 6 people including the leader. And also, you can only invite people who aren't already in a party and did not turn off their party invite option. Only the trade request option occurs in trades, but if the person you are trying to send a trade request to is already trading or doing something else, your request will not be sent through." I nodded my head a little after it had all sank in.

"Now, on to your buddy list. Each person is allowed 20 people in their buddy list, but if you go to Lith Harbor or Ludibrium, there is a person in those two places which will expand your buddy list by 5 if you pay them 250,000 mesos. To add a person, simply click on the "Add buddy " button at the bottom of your buddy list and type in their name. Oh yes! Before I forget again, I'd better give you these." Athena passed some headphones to me, and after which I fumbled to find the plug-in place. After I plugged it in I put them on, like most sensible people would do, and asked Athena what they're for.

"These will sort out your chats between Buddy list, Guild, Party and All. To chat with one of them, simply press numbers 1 to 4 on your built-in keyboard. 1 is All, 2 is Party, 3 is Buddy and 4 is Guild. If you do not have these on, all of the chats will be mixed together so I suggest that you keep them on at all times, unless you become familliar enough with the people in the four chats to not need them. Your voice cannot be heard by the other 3 chats unless they're in more than one of them, and the same goes for you." Athena explaned once again, but this time my headphones sorted it out as "All" chat.

I flipped my ID to Buddy List after Athena had finished explaining about MapleStory text messaging and private messaging, aka Maple Messenger and Whispers. As I glanced through the list while looking for the "Add Buddy" button, I noticed that several people were already in the list. Paying it no mind, I finally located the button and added Jade to my Buddy List. Within a matter of seconds, she accepted the invite yet from across the room she raised an eyebrow at me. I pressed 3 and held the ID backwards towards my mouth, talking into the microphone I found there while searching for the place to plug the headphones.

"Just incase the classes are really boring," I said into my microphone and was rather surprised when I could actually tell that my voice only went to the buddy list. When I looked up and saw Jade snickering, I knew the connection worked.

-----

End Flashback

-----

My attention focused on the line, which seemed to have dispersed quite a bit. Through the headphones, I could hear Jade whispering to me.

"Don't worry," She said, trying to comfort me. "All the secretary will do is check your ID, mother already has everything else covered."

"Okay..." I whispered back unsurely.

Soon, it was my turn. Like Jade had promised, all the secretary did was check my ID and printed off a schedule for me. Jade took it as the scretary handed me back my ID and whistled quitely.

"Wow, mom really DOES have everything covered, you're in every single class I'm in!" She exclaimed, and my mood lightened a bit.

------

"Let's see... Room 178, right?" I asked Jade, tuning my speech back to All as I walked down the hall.

"Yep!" She chirped, tuning her speech to All as well.

"Well," I sighed. "Might as well get it over with."

------

"Class, today we have a new student, please welcome Amethyst!" Exclaimed the over cheerful, almost stupid-like teacher. Jade had already gone into the class, saying I'll be fine on my own. I grumbled something around overly cheerful people and walked into the class, and stared. After a few moments, the teacher coughed and told me to tell the class about myself. I raised an eyebrow, but started talking anyways.

"Hi, I'm Amethyst Kaosu, I currently live with Athena Pierce and Jade... That's about all." I shrugged and glanced at Jade sweatdropping from the corner of my eye. The teacher smiled again and told me to sit down, but I sensed a hint of envy as she said it.

I turned to where Jade was sitting, and smiled as I saw an empty spot right beside hers. As I walked to the spot I had chosen, whispers and stares found their way to me, and none that I can identify as good. Through the mixed whispers, I could hear comments like "What's a Hunter doing here?!" and "Probably another pro that has come to laugh at us noobs." I payed no mind to the beginner archers and sat down in my place beside Jade.

"Thanks," I said in an barely audiable whisper. The teacher coughed, and the room began to settle down quickly for the first lesson. A while later after the class started, I turned on my ID and enabled both private messaging systems.

------

"Hehe, I'm so glad you can cook, or else we'd have to survive the results of my attempts at cooking." Said Jade with a sheepish grin as she took a bite of the ramen I had cooked for us this morning.

"Geeze, it's only instant noodles. I bet that you can do something like that with you eyes closed." I replied after swallowing a mouth full of the said noodles.

"You don't get it. I just have this inability when it comes to cooking." Jade sighed, and I decided to not press on about the subject anymore. We continued eating our lunch, and I tried my best at ignoring the jealous glares. Just as I was finishing the soup, someone shoved me and the bowl went flying at Jade. Luckily, she had quick reflexes and dodged the bowl.

"Hey you, hunter." Said the person in a dry tone as I whirled around angrily. He was a bowman, around level 25, in his teens. He held a bored look on his face and I mentally noted a group of people behind him.

'Must be his buddies.' I thought with some distaste. I watched Jade wince from the corner, yet I did not know why.

"What do you want?" I snapped at the nameless person, quite pissed off.

"I dunno if Ms. I'm-So-Perfect had told you," I heard Jade growl a little bit towards my right. "But this school do not accept anyone in the second job." He said in the same dry tone. "Get him, boys." (3)

The mob behind him advanced forward, and I froze. Bits and pieces of memories slipped past that invisible wall, like water does in a cracked glass. Visions of the tennis court flashed before my eyes, followed by Electra. Memories of the thugs came back faster, almost as if the wall cannot hold everything within it anymore and is starting to crumple. The wall crumbled to pieces. Soul Arrow and everything else rushed back instantly.

"T-this... It's happened before" I whispered and lowered my head, trembling. Jade who was still standing to the right of me, only this time in a defense pose, turned towards me with a confused expression.

"T-this has happened before..." I continued. "Because of it, I lost everyone I cared about... Oasis, Angle, Pain, Pan, Blood, Mystery, Electra... Hj." The pain burried deep in my heart exploded out of it's resting place and I snapped. I raised my head up high, the crystal-clear tears rolling down my cheeks in full view. I glared straight at the man who ruined this day, and felt the fear in him. I smirked cruelly.

'He'll pay for this, oh, he'll definitely pay...' My smirk grew bigger as I raised my Ryden, a single golden line appeared and materialized into an arrow bomb. My vision was now blinded by crimson, I was unaware of what I was doing now and I let go of the arrow.

"Inferno." The word slipped out of my mouth as the flaming arrow imbeded itself into the man, taking the crimson blindfold with it. I regained my senses, and watched in horror as my internal fire became a one executioner massacre, leaving nothing in its path. I was glued to the spot I was standing on, helplessly staring the riot before my eyes, yet somewhere deep inside my heart I felt contentment from it.

As I watched an innocent person ruthlessly murdered from the flames, I was hit against the back of my head by a blunt weapon. The pain led me into peaceful home of comforting darkness.

'Watch out world, Heiji Kaosu is back.'

---------

Yay!!!! I'm finally finished chappie 2:D And it took almost 3 Months too. I don't doubt that Chapter 3 will be out any faster than Chapter 2.

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1: I know in Chappie 1 I wrote Lv. 40, it was a typo.

2: If you've ever watched Ranma 1/2, think Akane's cooking. If you haven't, you're outta luck.

3: If you go around wearing guy armor no matter how long your hair is, (Think Catalyst hair, it is longer than any girl's hairstyle I know except for maybe Rose and Angelica.) you're bound to get mistaken as a guy.

---------

Special Thanks to Dan for letting me borrow the ID Card idea. (Give box of cookies)

---------

Review Replys (Wow, I never though I'd actually get some XD):

Reader: Yes, she does go unconscious very often... But this is the last time she will, I hope. (Gives Reader a cookie for checking on Born to Burn)

Whitelies: This chappie is what happens next. She can use Arrow Rain cause she's just that good. And she blackouts to so much cause... Well, I dunno why, really. And about the Arrow Rain, that's not the real answer, since it's a large part of chapter 3.

Jin Jin aka the one and only Angle78: I finally finished this chapter so stop bothering me about it!

And last but not least, the author of Born to Burn himself!

Trojan Pony: Of course it's the first time you've reviewed my story! There's only one chapter! And your story is 1000kX times better than mine, I can't write funny stuffs. :( I can try though. And while we're on the subject of checking for updates, I'mma go check in Born to Burn has been updated.

Quota is: I don't care about how many reviews I get as long as you go read Born to Burn and The Assassin of Peace. (Once again, thanks Dan!)


	3. Shards of Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own GlobalMS or any other form of MapleStory, they are the property of Wizet, Nexon, Asiasoft, etc... I do, however, have a claim on some of the characters used in this work of fiction. This fanfiction is not to be made a profit off of, and was merely created for enjoyment. I doubt that my writing is good enough to actually be sellable though. xD

A/N: Third and final chapter of Omoide no Kakera. :D I'll bee sad to see this go... But it's all in your hands after this, Trojan Pony-han!!! p

WARNING: Characters may seem REALLY out of character because of various reasons.

--------

"So, she's really Hj." I heard the voice of Grendel as I regained consciousness. A sense of Deja vu rushed to me, and I mentally smirked.

"Yes, my hunch was correct." Athena replied, I could almost see the triumphant smile on her face. "Now what I wanna find out is how did HE become a SHE?"

"This is only an assumption, but this girl might have been Hj from a parallel universe. She was brought here through that meteor rain that night before the day she was found, and lost her memories because of the landing." Grendel explained. Athena raised an eyebrow at this, and added her own opinion on the matter.

"There were no signs of injury to her head though. The only injury found was the one on her side, which was a knife wound..." Athena trailed on as if in thought. She then gasped a little. "She was suffering from mild burns and mild frostbites at the same time when we found her..." Her eyes widened, and she somewhat stared at me in disbelieve. "That was no meteor rain... It was---"

"An Arrow Rain..." I interrupted. Sitting up suddenly, all eyes snapped to me. Even though the attention made me a little queasy, I ignored it for the time being. "It all makes sense now! Hj's last attack was Arrow Rain!!!! It's what brought me here!!!"

Every problem in the world seemed to make sense to me that moment. Memories came to my aid in a flash, as soon as I called for them.

"My DNA must have been mixed with Hj's when I arrived here, him being my counterpart and all..." I bit my thumb nervously. Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind. "Wait... That means I'm not Sakuri anymore... Nor am I Hj... Then... Who am I?" Panicking for a second, Athena spoke.

"Hmm... This is a delimmma after all... You could continue being Amehyst, but I doubt that you'd like something like that." She put a finger up to her chin in thought. A while later, Athena seemed to have come up with something, and smiled. "How about Heiji? It's been Hj's nickname since god-knows-when. So how about it?" I smiled.

"Heiji Kaosu... I like the sound of that..." Jade pondered, and I resisted the urge to laugh. She turned her attention back to me, a wide grin upon her face. "So how 'bout it, Heiji-chan?"

I laughed. " I guess it does sound nice... Sakuri's nickname for Hj had always been Heiji, actually." I could hear Athena snap her fingers in the backround.

Unknownst to me at the time, my laughter did not last long...

-------

3 weeks later, Peirce Household, 1:47 AM

---------

I was woken up to the soft sound of someone knocking on my door.

"Heiji-chan... Are you awake?" A soft voice whispered it sounded to be laced with emotion. I immediatly reconised it.

"Come in." I whispered back. The figure on the other side of the door pushed the door open a bit, and slipped in. I sat up from my lying postion. Even though the light was dim, I could tell that she was pale, as if just seeing a ghost. I frowned. Something was wrong.

"Heiji-chan... I think you might want to see this..." She mumbled. "Follow me..."

Raising an eyebrow, I followed her out into the stairwell. From there, she pointed down, at Athena talking to... A cloaked figure. I gasped softly, so as for them to not hear me. "Deja vu..." I whispered, nearly audiable to even myself.

"Father..." I could clearly see the tear flowing down her cheeks and the pain in her eyes. I turned my attention back to the cloaked figure. Yep, it was definately the one from all those years ago. I inched closer, trying to eavsdrop on their conversation. For a whole 5 minutes or so, all I could make out was some random chatter, about an Order or something. Giving up, I grabbed Jade, and sneaked back to our rooms.

----------

2 Weeks Later, Peirce Household.

------------

I stood in the frontyard, praticing my archery on a puppet Athena had summoned, before she left to the local doctors' for a check up. Ever since that night, the Henesys leader had been experiencing things like vomiting, and her diet seemed to have grown bigger. Even though I was not completely sure, I had a good guess at what it was.

"I'm back!!" Came the voice of Athena, it sounded awfully cheerful, something she hasn't been ever since about 2 weeks ago. Jade poked her head through the back door, a peice of toast in her hand.

"Welcome back, mother. So how did it go?" She asked, and stuck the toast into her mouth. Athena beamed.

"Guess what?" She chirped. "I'm... Pregnate!!!"

Jade choked on her toast. Even though I already guessed what it was, it was still shoking to hear her admit it. Losing my grasp for a spilt-second, it was enough for the Arrow Bomb I was preparing for to slip out of my hand, soaring through the air, missing the puppet by an inch, and hit the fence. That is, it would've, had it not turned into a Strafe. Left speechless by both the news and skill, I did the thing any normal person would've done.

I fainted.

------------------

"Hey, she's waking up."

My eyes fluttered open, and I sat up from the bed. I seemed to be doing that alot lately. "W-What happened?" I sputtered out. Grendel, Athena, and Jade sat around me, expressionless.

"You fainted after Strafing that fence." Replied Athena. A wave of memories came crashing into my mind. I clutched my head, a bit dizzy.

"Now, you said that Hj's last skill was an Arrow Rain, correct?" Grendel questioned, and I nodded stiffly. "And Jade here hold us that before you were knocked out that time, you had used Inferno, right?" I nodded again. "And now this Strafe..." He closed his eyes in thought for a moment. Opening them up again, the Ellinia leader stared directly at me. "Tell me, child. What skill were you using everytime one of these third job skills had been casted?" I thought for a moment, and replied truthfully. Not much to hide anyways.

"Hmm... First time it was Arrow Bomb, I think. Second time, also that. And the Strafe..." I gasped. "Also Arrow Bomb..."

"Well, there you have it. The trigger is your Arrow Bomb." Athena explained. "This hasn't happened is centuries, maybe even milleniums now.. Maybe it's because of your origin, but... Congratulations, you're one of the only bowmen to achieve the 3rd job skills, ignoring the level system."

I blinked. Scowling, I spoke. "Congratulations? Congratulations?! Look, I never wanted these skills, and with all of the trouble they've caused me, I doubt that I ever will!!!" Taking in a deep breath, I tried to calm myself down. "Besides... I want to go back home... To that world where I actually belong..." My voice died down, and the room was detahly silent for a minute. The silence was interrupted by a cough from Grendel.

"So, you wish to return back to your world?" I nodded.

"And you also wish to get rid of your 3rd job skills?" Another nod.

He chuckled. I looked up to see him pulling out a pendant-like thing from his sleeve. It's basic shape was an O, engraved with mystical designs. Staring at the pendant in awe, I turned back to the aged Magician, a wise smile under his beard.

"Then use this." He spoke, handing the pendant to me. It glowed on contact, but quickly died down.

"W-What's it for?" I asked quietly, examining the pendant, flipping it over and over. He chuckled.

"To subtue your third job skills, of course. But everything comes with a price. You are unable to level above the level of 69, because of it's magic properties. Though, within time, you will discover on your own how to manipulate it's powers. The pendant also act as a tracking device to the Child of Prophecy." I raised and eyebrow at Grendel.

"What does this "Child of Prophecy" have to do with me?"

"You said you wished to return to your world, am I not correct?" I nodded, unsure of where this was going.

"The Child of Prophecy holds the keys to this lock. Find them and defeat the Order along with them, then you'll be able to return home." I stared at him in confusion.

"The Order?"

"You will find out in time."

---------------

Nine months later, Henesys hospital.

--------------

Jade and I sat infront of the operation room, eager for the good news. After what seemed like hours, a nurse walked out, a smile on her face, and walked towards us.

"Are you the relatives of Athena Pierce?" She asked. I could barely control my excitement. Jade, on the other hand, was able to, for long enough to reply.

"Yes, I am her daughter."

"Well then, congratulations, Miss Pierce! You have just gained a wonderful, healthy, baby brother!" Her eyes widened, as well as mine. For the next few seconds, we stood in silence, until I was able to snap out of the trance. Glomping onto her, I was litterally jumping up and down.

"JADE!!!! YOU HAVE A NEW BROTHER!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!" I exclaimed happily. Within seconds, she too snapped now of her trance, and squealed in joy. Glomping me back, we jumped up and down giddily in the hallway, screaming gibberish.

------------

Three Months Later, Pierce household frontyard. 5:36 AM.

------------

The sun had just rose, creating a thin, golden horizon line. The once jet black sky began flare with reds, yellows, and oranges. A shadow was cast, creating our sillouttes. A tear nearly escaped my eyes, but I held it in, my throat tight.

"So, do you have everything?"

"Y-Yep, I guess so..." I choked out in a whisper.

Looking at the house, I sighed. "I'm gonna miss it here..."

Jade smiled sadly. "And we'll miss you... Heiji-chan, I wish you didn't have to leave..."

Athena calmly gazed at me, the baby in her arms. "Let her go, Jade-chan. It's Heiji-kun's decision. No one will be able to persuade her to stay. Not even me or you."

I smiled a thanks to her, a tear trickling down the corners of my eyes. Turning around, I took my leave.

"Wait!" Stopping in my tracks, I turned back to the trio. Jade threw something at me, and I caught it with relative ease. It was a peice of jade, carved into the shafe of an arrow.

"For my best lil' sister-figure!" She shouted, a grin appearing on her face, and she waved in big arcs. "Sayonara, imouto-chan!!! We'll miss you!!!" More tears flowed down my cheeks, tears of joy.

"Thanks, 'nee-chan!!! Ja, kaa-san!!!" Athena smiled, and wiped a tear from her eyes.

"Ja ne, Heiji-chan."

-----------

3 Weeks later, Pierce Household. Narrator's POV.

--------------

"Mother!!! Mother!!!" Came the chime of Jade's voice, running into the house. "We've got mail from Heiji-chan!!!"

Looking up from feeding the baby, Athena's beamed. "So soon? I'd never have expected it."

The brunnete grinned, took out a pair of sciccors, and cut open the envelope eagerly. Taking out the message, she handed it to the Henesys leader.

Dear 'kaa-san and 'nee-chan,

How have you been these days? Three weeks certainly flew by, didn't it? I'm currently searching for information on the Order in Lith Harbor, but haven't been getting much success. Oh well, it's only been 3 weeks, after all. My next stop is Kerning City, and I'll probably be there longer than here. Come visit me sometime!

-Lubb, Heiji Kaosu.

PS: How's my favorite otoutou-chan doing? I've missed him soo much!!!

Jade grinned, finished reading the letter.

"Mother, can we go visit Heiji when she arrives at Kerning City?"

A soft laughter escaped the older woman. She put a finger on her chin in thought, and smiled. "Hmm... I don't think I'll be able to go, Jade-chan, being the Henesys leader and all." The brunette pouted. "But, if you wish, you can go see her yourself. It will be your first trip alone outside of Henesys, won't it be exciting?"

Jade beamed. "How wonderful! I'll go pack right away." She rushed up the stairs to her room, another round of soft laughter from Athena following the excited girl.

Smiling, Athena shook her head, and went back to feeding the baby, picking up the spoon, she noticed the restof the mail Jade had brought in. The one on top caught her attention the most.

"Hmm? What's this?" She wondered quietly to herself. Picking up the letter, the blonde's eyes widened at the sender's name. Ripping the envelope open gently, she read the message inside, her smile transforming into a frown, then a scowl. Slamming her hand down on the table, Athena growled.

'So, I guess it's time...'

Picking up the phone, she dialed the number of the Ellinia leader. It was almost immediatly answered.

"Hello?"

"So, did you get the letter as well?" She could almost hear Grendel's frown.

"I was just about to inform you of the matter."

"So, what do we do? Fight?"

"It seems to be our only choice."

Athena's scowl deepened.

"Then bring 'em on."

Hanging up the phone, she closed her eyes, and sighed. Losing herself in her thoughts for a moment, Athena's eyes snapped open minutes later, the scowl still in it's place. Calling for Jade, the blonde listened as her daughter bounce down the stairs, unaware of the current problem at hand.

"Yes mother?" She chirped nearly jumping up and down. Quickly, the stopped at one glance of Athena's expression. "W-What's wrong?"

"Pack your bags as fast as possible." She ordered. "We're going to Ellinia."

"W-What happened to Kerning City?"

"I'm sorry, Jade-chan. But there has been a slight change of plans."

"O-Okay, I'll go right now." She quickly retreated, a little frightened. Jade has never seen her mother this serious before. Waiting for her daughter to be completely out of view, the Henesys' Leader picked up her second child, and left the house, heading to one nearby.

----------------

10 Minutes Later

----------------

Ringing the doorbell rather impatiently, the blonde stared at the currently shut door, willing it to open faster. A moment later, she heard some footsteps. Athena smiled bitterly. The footsteps became louder, and stopped. The sound of a lock opening entered her ears, followed by the door finally opening. Looking up, the figure within the house gasped softly, then smiled warmly.

"Good day, Athena-dono. What has brought you here on this wonderful day?" The woman smiled. Athena gave a quick nod in gretting.

"Good day to you, too Hitotoki-san." She bit her lip, unsure of how to spill the news. Taking a deep breath, Athena closed her eyes, and hoped the results would be in her favor. "May I ask you for a favor, Hitotoki-san?" The other woman blinked.

"Of course, I would be honored."

"Can you please take care of my baby for a while? Something has come up."

"What about Jade-chan? Surely she is mature enough to take care of another, especially if it was her own flesh and blood."

"Jade-chan is coming with me."

Hitotoki-san frowned, and sensed something was wrong.

"If I may ask, for how long?"

"I don't know yet, but it's a save bet that it'll be a year or so. If you need anything, my secretary will gladly help you."

"I'll be happy to take care of him for you."

Smiling a thanks, Athena gingerly handed the sleeping baby in her arms to the kind warrior. She stared at him for a moment, and turned around to return to her own home. The Henesys' Leader's head hung low, her bangs casting a shadow over her emerald-green eyes.

'I wish it wasn't like this...'

-----------------

About One Year and a Half Later

----------------

Heiji's POV

-----------------

Sitting on a hill east of Henesys, I sighed. How long has it been? A year? Two? I've lost count so many months ago. Here I was, sitting right outside of Hj's birthtown, after wasting a year or so of my life searching for the Order and the Child of Prophecy, I've come up with a sad, yet truthful fact. There's absolutely nothing about either one. I glanced over to Henesys and it's people, going on with their daily lives, without a care in a world. I couldn't help but scoff. I sighed, but jumped up to my feet, and dusted some invisble dust off of my Kismet. I picked up my Olympus from beside me, and made my way to the small town.

'Well, might as well as visit Jade-chan and 'kaa-san while I still have the chance.'

------------------

Narrator's POV.

------------------

A door bell rang.

"Coming!!!"

A twist of the knob.

A gasp.

"Hey Jade-chan!!!"

"H-Heiji?!"

"Yep, who else do you think it is?" The Hunteress grinned, and gave one, long glance at the other woman. She whistled. "Wow. Ranger now? Bowmaster?"

"Ranger."

"Congrats."

"Thanks."

"No prob. Now, are you gonna let me in or just make me stand out here and catch pneumonia?"

"Huh? Oh..." She moved aside a little. "Come in."

The red-head gladly complied. Taking a look about, she smiled. "Wow, it's as if this year and a half has never happened."

Jade smiled sheepishly. "Y-Yeah..."

She placed a finger on her chin in thought. "Say... Where's kaa-san? I haven't seen her in sooooooo long!!!"

"Ummm... About that, Heiji-chan..."

Said Hunter blinked. "Hmmm?"

"I think there's something you need to see..." The brunette frowned, causing the red-head's smile to gradually evaporate into thin air. The former motioned the latter to follow her.

"I-I'm not going to like this, am I?"

Her head gave a small shake, but it was enough to make Heiji's entire being to tense up.

-----------------------------------------------

Jade gave a small push to the door, and it slowly opened to a sliver, just enough for them to slip through. The Ranger went first, followed by her red-haired companion. The latter let out a horrified gasp. It was not because of the surroundings, which alonewas enough to send a shiver up anyone's spine, but rather the figure lying on a single bed in the dead center of the room. Athena Pierce. The brunette gave a bitter smile.

"Hi, okaa-chan. Guess who's back...?" She paused, as if waiting for an answer, even though she very well knew it might possibly never happen. She tugged gently on the sleeve of the Hunter's blue robe, and watched as emotions flood into her aquamarine orbs. A minute later, though it seeemed like all of enternity, she regained her voice.

"I-Is s-she..." Heiji trailed on. Jade, sensing her uncomfortablity, comtinued her sentence.

"No, she isn't dead. The doctors say it's a coma. They're not sure of the exact time that she'll wake up, or if she'll wake up at all..." She sniffed, but no tears came.

"...W-What h-happened?"

"Almost a month after you left, a letter came. It was no simple letter, you see. It was a letter of challenge. All four of the leaders got one. The sender issued an war, which had lasted until about 3 months ago. We had won, but with consequences..." The Ranger glanced over to her birth mother's body, her once lively eyes now duller than rusted steel.

"A-Any ideas of the sender?"

She shook her head sadly. "Appearently it's a closely guarded secret between the four leaders. Oh, by the way, until okaa-san wakes up, I'll be in the place of the Henesys leader, so as to not cause an uproar within the people."

Heiji bit her lip so hard, the iron taste of blood began to fill her mouth. 'It's the Order... It HAS to be them...'

The Hunter walked slowly towards the once-Henesys leader, and kneeled down next to her lifeless body, one arm raised. "I swear, on my honor as a bowman, as Hj, and Sakuri, as a human being... That I WILL one day avenge you, kaa-san. No matter what the cost, I will go into battle at the slightest of clues, traces of "them"..."

------------------------------------

3 months later, Henesys.

------------------------------------

Jade gave the slightest of frowns, and stared directly at the person sitting across from her. He was starting to get very uncomfortable, and sweating buckets despite the frost of winter. Heiji's glare/look did nothing to help, but rather rivaled the brunette's. She whamed her right hand down on the table, in a fist. The other two inhabitats of the table snapped around to look at her. The red-head growled.

"What do you mean, "She has still not woken up, maybe in a few more months worth of time"?!" She barked at the man in the white coat.

"E-Exactly what it sounds like, Heiji-san..." He replied, voice growing quieter by the syllable. "P-Please give it a few more months... A-After all, there is no telling of when one will wake from a coma. I-It may be tomorrow, it may be years from now..."

The red-head whamed both of her hands on the table, and stood up. The Ranger raised an eyebrow. Heiji walked calmly over to the man, fist clenched so tightly they turned white.

"A few YEARS?!" She gritted through clenched teeth. "Look here, "doctor"." Her voice dripped with venom at the last word. The Hunter gripped the man's collar in one hand, the other one pulling back, parallel to her ears. "We don't HAVE a few years!"

The brunette's emerald orbs flashed with annoyance. In a swift move, she held up her bow, separating Heiji's arm from the doctor's collar.

"At least let him finish, Heiji-chan!" She hissed. The other girl growled, but retreated back to her seat. The white-clad man panted heavily, cold sweat pouring from his body.

Suddenly, the door bell rang.

"Coming!" Jade called out, and fixed Heiji with a look. The latter scowled, but did not move. Quickly, she made her way over the to front door, and opened it, revealing the kindered warrior, Hitotoki Keiko. Her facial features held a look of absolute panic. Jade nodded in greeting.

"What can we do for you today, Hitotoki-san?"

Trembling, Keiko pulled out a slip of paper from her sleeve, and handed it to the brunette. The latter took it in confusion.

"And this is...?"

"I-I'm sorry, Jade-chan... B-But..."

She raised an eyebrow, but glanced at the note. It was already too late then. Her eyes widened. "Oh my gods... T-This... T-this is... Heiji-chan!!!!!!!"

Said Hunter poked her head out from behind the doorframe, and gave a similiar greeting to the warrior as Jade. She then turned to latter.

"What happened?"

Jade wordlessly handed the paper to Heiji, hand quivering uncontrolablely. The redhead took the paper, and began to read it out loud.

""He will be safe with me"? What kinda note is this?" Frowned Heiji, rather displeased that she was being toyed with.

"That... Is my father's handwriting." The Hunter rose an eyebrow.

"And why would your father write a note to Hitotoki-san?" Jade sighed, and turned to face the girl completely, mixed emotions flickering within her emerald orbs.

"Because... That's where Mother hid otoutou-chan before we had left to the war." She wasn't sure how to act. Should she be surprised? Flustered? Calm? Cautious? Or should it have been completely obvious? Unable to decide upon just one at the moment, the red-head merely stood there, unblinking.

"Due to the fact that I am in no position to leave Henesys at the moment, Heiji-chan, please take my place to search for otoutou-chan, and the Order, of course."

"S-Sure..." Heiji stuttered out, in no position to disagree to anything. "I-I'll prepare to leave in a month."

---------------------

Sixteen years later, Heiji's POV

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Sixteen years.

Sixteen long, harsh years has passed since that fateful day, when I accepted Jade's request, and solemly swore to Athena's still body, that I will find out the truth about this "Order". True to Grendel's words, I had learned to manipulate the pendant, though only a little. I was able to change my level to anything I desired, as long as it was below the level of 69. Not like I had actually wanted to go above that, anyways. Even to this day, they still sent shivers up my spine. Sixteen years since the actual begining of my search, the years before it without meaning. Sixteen years later, on that day...

I finally found my target.

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3 Way Road Split, Lith Habor, Victoria Island.

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"Arrow Bomb!" I shouted half-heartedly. It has been a while since I've gotten track of the child of prophecy. Hell, the last time I did was when I was in Ellinia Department Store, annoying the clerk a few months ago. The pendant's force had pulled so tightly, it felt as if I was a puppet, my body controlled by the pendant. As quickly as it came though, it died down. I had made my way to Grendel's, but could only watch in horror as he layed on the ground, motionless. Fortunately, I soon snapped out of my trance and called for help. I still haven't gotten the news that he has recovered yet. Well, sometimes, like the saying goes, no news is the best news.

Deep in thought, I failed to realize I was walking towards a small group until it was too late. I bumped into one of the members of the party, and shut my eyes, bracing for the impact of hard floor.

But it never came.

My eyes fluttered open, and the first thing that came within my view was the face of a man, looking down at me in concern. I panicked, and tore away quickly from his grip, almost falling over again in the process. I held my head down low, trying to hide my embaracement and wounded ego.

"I-I'm so s-sorry! Are y-you ok?" I stuttered.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you alright though? You seemed to be bracing for death." Replied the man in good humor. Before I could reply, the voice clicked in my mind.

My head snapped up as I studied the man's features again. I couldn't believe it, it's...

"P-Pain-chan?!" I stuttered again, only this time with uttermost disbelieve. I seemed to have caught all of them off guard, as they stared at me with the same disbelieve that could rival mine.

"H-Hj?" Pain seemed to have regained his senses first, but mimicked my stuttering. I studied the whole group, and realized they were all somewhere within their 3rd job advancements, maybe 4th. Another glance revealed their identities to me. Starting from the left: Angle, Blood, Pan, Mystery, Pain and... I winced as I studied her expression, which was a mix of curiousity, hurt and betrayal.

Oasis.

She was second to have regained her composure, and glared suspiciously at me. I could almost feel the icy daggers ripping giant gaps at my flesh.

"There's no way that this girl is Hj, Pain." Oasis' icy tone of voice was in complete sync with her glare, and I felt more pain than I have ever experienced before, both physically and mentally.

"After all, Hj is a guy," She continued, her tone and glare never once resting, "And we out of all people should realize that he has died, all those years ago."

That last sentence tore a gigantic hole within me, and my legs no longer provided support, as I fell on my knees. I barely heard Oasis' command of "Come on, let's go." as I was swallowed within self-pity. A few seconds later, which could've been all of eternity to me, I held up my head a bit and watch the last of them go north towards Kerning City. They seemed to have noticed me watching, because they turn around and fixed me with a glare almost as cold as Oasis' and left me there, paralized for another eternity.

Without giving me enough time to patch up the tears, the force of the pendant came again, even stronger than last time, if it was possible. It pulled me towards the hidden entrance of Pig Beach, and died down.

I masked away the painful experience, and focused on my more recent problem, or blessing. Finally, after all these years of searching, I've found him, just a few yards away from me.

The child of prophecy.

I hastily changed into a beginner's set, stuffing my Kismet into my bag, and gently placing my Olympus beside my prized Ryden. Holding a war bow, I put my bag on my back again and trudged through the flowers, heading towards pig beach.

------------------------

Hidden Street, Pig Beach.

------------------------

As I hanged onto one of the ropes scouting around for the child of prophecy, I thought back to the encounter with Oasis and the others. It almost too late when I noticed a randomly fired Fire Arrow flying towards my bag. My eyes widened, but I was fast enough to move my bag out of the way of the blind but powerful arrow. My eyes pin pointed a fire/poison mage, around Lv. 40 or so, melting iron hogs with his fire arrow.

Target sighted.

"Hey! Watch it! You almost burned my Ryden!" I yelled at the mage, quite pissed off. My over-protectiveness of my Ryden overcame the pendant's force, which could drag me off the rope if I didn't hold on tight enough.

"Dude...you were like a good twenty meters away... wait a minute, you have a Ryden? You are just a..." The mage trailed on.

"That's right. I have a Ryden. Yeah, I'm also a low level noob running around Pig Beach getting killed." I rolled my eyes before I jumped down, and changed into a green Legolier set, to match with my Ryden. I reached into my bag, and extracted with some difficulty my prized bow, gleaming in the sun like little stars. Even one who was blind, deaf and dumb could tell it was extremely well taken care of.

Oh, it's just my lucky day. An iron hog spawned right behind me. I turned around and fired off a hasty shot at the charging monster, but in vain. My arrow bounced off the metal armor and and I winced, bracing for the impact. Right before the Iron Hog barreled into me, a few quick thoughts ran through my mind. Three that actually caught my attention was "I'm really useless without my Oly, I lack practice with my Ryden, and this guy's the child of prophecy." No competition of which one caught my attention the most. I watched the mage quickly barbecue the Iron Hog with another Fire Arrow, and come to me, sprawled on the ground, looking winded, as though someone had punched me in the stomach. Well, that's kinda true, but replace the punch with a steel clad piggy.

Ow.

The mage quickly brought me to a safe corner where the energetic jumping monsters could not reach. I think he noticed my hair as he set me down, mostly because he started stuttering like a fish out of water.

"You...you're...a...girl?"Yep, he definately noticed it.

"Huh? Oh... yes... haha, everybody thinks that I'm male" I replied half truthfully as I sat up. 'I wish Oasis and them mistaked me for a guy too.' I thought bitterly.

"Oh... I thought you were a boy at first... your clothes..."I nearly laughed out loud as I realized my fasion sense hasn't changed for the past 17 years or so.

"Yes... many people think that I'm a boy but--" I suddenly remembered my prized bow, which I'm pretty sure I dropped as the piggy owned me. "Oh my god! My Ryden!"

"It's here." The mage had laid the Ryden beside me on the ground when was searching around for it.

"Oh. Phew." I picked my Ryden up from the ground, and started to brush little specks of dirt from it. Those things can stain BAD if I didn't remove them.

"By the way, what's your name?" The mage asked, opening up to me. I sat there, a little flabbergasted as I felt the force of the pendant dull down, only to reappear as a warm feeling in my chest. Yep, I've finally found him. His question sank into my mind, and I quickly blurted out the first name I thought of.

"Hjiscool," Whoops. I mentally kicked myself as I tried to think of a way to patch up the mistake. "But just call me Heiji. What's yours?" Good enough, I guess.

"Tom."I smiled a little, as the world around me seemed to have changed because of that one word. In my mind I knew that it wasn't the world that has changed, instead it was me.

My days of traveling alone was over, because I have a hunch that more comrades will come our way. Even if they don't, it's still okay. As long as I'm with him, it's alright.

I wonder what new adventures will I exprience on this last stop towards that world I was born in?

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Omoide no Kakera, End.

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A/N: Woot, it's finally over! The rest is all up to you, Trojan Pony! Nows... Time to start writing the second chappie of that Omega ficcy thing. o.o And maybe, just maybe, I'll even write up the first chappie of OR, if I'm bored enough. I highly doubt it though. Hmmm... What else... Perhaps one day Heiji will appear in another one of my fics, prehaps not. Maybe Heiji and Hei-chan will even meet someday, I'm not sure. But all in all, Heiji will be an unforgettable memory. Mou... I can never think of anything to write when I actually want to... Oh wells. Ja ne for now, peoples!


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